VIRTUAL PIANO. FREE

We now aspire to raise awareness of that fact. A notation based on English alphabet that even a 4-year old child can play within a minute of arriving on Millions of people speaking different languages have successfully played songs using our simplified music notation. Virtual Piano works around these traditional barriers. Virtual Piano has now addressed all of those 3 mentioned barriers – so now 1) there’s no need to purchase an instrument, 2) no need to learn the traditional music notation and 3) no need for money to hire a teacher. My vision for Virtual Piano was to make music accessible for all. What vision did you have for Virtual Piano when you first started and how does it compare to what it is now? It is of course now fuelled by our natural love for music. It was a shock to see the reaction from all across the world to a piece of technology which was initially fuelled by a ban on music. Never would I have thought that over 100 million people play it online. That’s what Virtual Piano does – it lets users learn, play and create freely.

VIRTUAL PIANO. FREE

I believe that music shouldn’t be a privilege for a few but access should be free for all. I wanted to develop an online platform where people could learn to play instruments without having to buy anything. So all the music on Virtual Piano is original and created specifically for Virtual Piano. We created a way for the whole global community to create music. While it started with me, a few years later I hired a team of developers, editors and music producers. I was later a consultant for an advertising company and in the evenings, I spent my time putting my studies into action, working on Virtual Piano. The dream of Virtual Piano started when I studied Computing and Artificial Intelligence at Oxford Brookes University in the UK. So this ban fueled my love for music even more. I noticed that listening to music, creating music and playing music only do good for individuals and societies in the developed world. Especially the type of music that was played with instruments and the type that wasn’t about praising the Lord.ĭespite the ban people still listened to music and in fact, it empowered people when helpless. So the Taliban imposed a blanket ban on music. Like in most orthodox religious frameworks, music is considered a sin because of the risk it poses to freeing minds and creating a distraction from worship. But before playing music, there is also music notation to learn, which was not something I could find time for.Īpart from those general barriers, for me personally, growing up in Afghanistan during the Taliban regime was in itself the greatest barrier to music. You need to have the money for lessons, purchasing the instrument, etc. I’ve always loved music and especially the piano, but growing up there were many barriers. What motivated you to start Virtual Piano? Note: Responses may have been edited for clarity. We sat down with Amir to learn more about his story and what inspired the creation of Virtual Piano. It now allows users to play 24 different classical instruments from all around the world. Since its inception, Virtual Piano has enabled people to also play other instruments through the platform. Between March 2020 and August 2021, 8.9 million new users took up Virtual Piano, and it now has 19 million active users. Over the years, Virtual Piano grew in popularity before receiving a spike when the pandemic struck. It’s designed for anyone without access to a piano.

In 2006, Virtual Piano was launched as the world’s first online piano keyboard, allowing users to play the piano on a computer keyboard, mobile or tablet. His love for music persisted and amplified.Īmir came to the UK as a teenager in 1998, studied computing and artificial intelligence at Oxford Brookes University, and created the Virtual Piano while also working as a digital consultant. Not to mention that he was brought up in Afghanistan under Taliban rule amid a blanket ban on music. Have you ever wanted to learn to play an instrument but didn’t have the funds to purchase the device and pay for an instructor? Or maybe you have struggled to find time to learn music notation? These are some of the barriers that motivated Habib Amir to start Virtual Piano.

Virtual piano.